Dunkirk Mayor Wilfred Rosas and city Department of Public Works Director Randy Woodbury are pleased with the inter-community collaboration to link Dunkirk and Fredonia water systems on Vineyard Drive at Main Street. However, the following is offered to correct some details.

“In two recent OBSERVER articles, it was not clear, although true, that the City of Dunkirk water supply to the village of Fredonia pump station has remained able to fully supply Fredonia’s requested sustained flow from Dunkirk at about 500,000 to 750,000 gallons per day,” stated Woodbury. “The delays in fully and flexibly operating the village pump station – as observed by city managers asked by Fredonia to be present at all of their start-up sessions – were not from lack of city supply.”

Because of deferred maintenance from non-use, the Fredonia station was redesigned and rebuilt over the past two years under the direction of Fredonia’s engineers. The very first startup after this extensive rebuild was early November where the system tested well running at 750,000 gallons per day.

However, it was then found that starting and stopping using the Fredonia pump station’s old controls on Fredonia’s new valves caused pressure spikes that could burst lines in the Vineyard Drive and plaza areas. Additionally it was found that Fredonia’s remote start-stop phone line was not working.

“The next startup, after Fredonia had new valve controls installed, was in March of 2021. The harmful starting and stopping pressure spikes were then found to have been eliminated. A full-day test delivering 500,000 gallons went very smoothly. A higher rate test also went smoothly,” added Woodbury. “The city looks forward to a continued smooth relationship with neighboring Fredonia.”